The WorkPLace
Introduction The WorkPLace, a Chapter on Bungie.net, is a "private group" with restricted admission. TWP, as the group is commonly called, is the successor to Halo 3 in the Work PLace (H3ITWP), and was formed in the waning days of Halo 3 to symbolize the group's cohesiveness outside just a single game. TWP is both a Chapter and a clan designed to be a haven for Bungie.net users who log onto Bungie.net from work during the day and game together at night. Notwithstanding its relatively low member count and short time in existence, TWP has become a major influence in the Bungie Community, boasting frequent mentions in Bungie news items, multiple Bungie Favorites fileshare items, interviews of its members, and a membership that includes Bungie employees and many Bungie Community members who have become notable in other ways. History Despite its short time in existence, H3ITWP/TWP has had an interesting history during its ascent to becoming one of the premier influences and activity centers of the Bungie Community. Founding The initial idea for H3ITWP came from a thread created by the DERAGOTH. His initial thread sparked a series of weekly threads that appeared on Fridays. The thread typically had a theme or main question in the Original Post for all discussion to revolve around. The thread's creation was during the pre-Halo 3 release and post-Beta days and thus the Halo forums were flooded with rampant speculation and flaming. Many people observed that the best time to get mature and accurate responses / criticism to questions and theories was during the workday and Forum browsers often came to the Friday Thread for questions and answers, as well as casual conversation. After a few weeks of consistent weekly threads, some conflicts with Forum Rules and trouble staying on topic, it was suggested that a group be started to act as a haven from the main forums. Thus, Halo 3 in The Work PLace was founded on January 4, 2008 by VENOM MDK. Halo 3 H3ITWP seemed to draw the well-known, boasting members who included Bungie employees, Forum Ninjas, Bungie community leaders from all over the internet, and others. Soon, "H3ITWP" became a common term on the Bungie.net forums and elsewhere throughout the community. Foman123, OctoDeath, and JoeSki73 had maps featured in the Community Content Spotlight. JoeSki73's Pivotal and OctoDeath's Excavation went on to be highlighted in the 4/10/09 edition of Bungie's Weekly Update. Halo 3 in The Work PLace was featured in the "Game With Flame" Humpday to help promote the Mythic Maps. Through it all, several graphic designers in H3ITWP created logos for the group, plastering them onto shirts, buttons, coffee mugs, and other items. Some of these were sent to Bungie, while the rest ended up in the hands of WorkPLacers. Frequent "shout outs" on news stories featuring WorkPLacers helped to make the name even more well-known. The popularity of the group also had its downside. After a few incidents of trolling and immaturity within the group occurred, the group took steps to prevent further problems by implementing several restrictions on bringing new members into the group. New members had to be "referred" to the group by existing members, at least 21 years of age, and had to play online over XBL with members of "Human Resources" (the groups administrative and moderating team). While these restrictions have been met with mixed reviews, they have certainly served their purpose in preventing further incidents of group trolling and spam. TWP Is Formed In August and September of 2010, the group coordinated a massive, unprecedented "move" to a new location on Bungie.net, renaming itself The WorkPLace. This was done upon overwhelming approval by the groups members, both to coincide with the release of Halo: REACH and in order to allow the group's name to be more versatile, no longer giving the appearance that the group was based solely around Halo 3. As the name change implies, WorkPLacers play many other games together, both Halo and non-Halo related. Group Structure To go with its "Work PLace" theme, TWP's structure is comprised of security roles that mimic the organization of a corporation. The group's leadership is composed of a "CEO" and "Board of Directors" that provide executive leadership, as well as a "Human Resources" group that controls admission to and membership of the group. Other members are granted titles modeled after a corporate structure such as "Foreman," "Supervisor," "Middle Management," and "Desk Jockey." These members do not have increased security rights or access to group moderating tools, but their member titles are a recognition of their tenure and contributions to the group. All new members start off as lowly "Interns" and must work their way up the corporate ladder. Like most Groups on Bungie.net, TWP's main gateway for communication is its forum. Here, members can generally discuss anything they want provided that it complies with the forum's rules and is a topic of general interest for the group. Members that just want to chat about their day-to-day lives or catch up on the activities of other members usually find their way to the BreakROom. A weekly thread of randomness started every Monday by Frogg1rl (if she actually makes it into the office early enough and another WorkPlacer doesn't beat her to it). Group Administrators Board of Directors * BigCountry1369 *JoeSki73 (Suckit, LOVER OF DENIM!) CEO * VENOM MDK HR Pirates *db0l *Der Todesengel * EaglesofDC aka DaWhistlesGoWoo *Frogg1rl *Krewl Intent *WhtButterflyLiz *MADMAN Redux Group Accomplishments and Notables TWP and its individual members have racked up an impressive number of accomplishments and notables. * The following TWP members appeared on Bungie Favorites for Halo 3: ** jdars1804 ** JoeSki73 ** Kage24Neko ** OctoDeath ** Piercingtiger ** PsychoTEX aka LIGHTSOUT225 ** VENOM MDK ** x Foman123 x ** BigCountry1369 ** Agent Diddy ** MADMAN Redux ** KAZEKITA aka Kazega Ryuu * The following TWP members have been interviewed by Bungie as part of the "Average Joe"/"Know Your Ninja" series: ** ArrivedLactose (A.K.A. IgnitedProphecy) (link to interview) TKs for rocket launcher in public games ** El Roboto (link to interview) ** BigCountry1369 (link to interview) ** VENOM MDK (link to interview) ** x Foman123 x (link to interview) ** bobcast ** Delta 15t ** LIBBYFACE (First "Average Jane" to ever be interviewed) * The following Bungie Employees and Bungie Contractors are members of TWP: ** urk ** Killane (former Bungie Contractor) ** Halcylon ** DeeJ * The following Bungie.net Forum Ninjas are members of TWP: ** bobcast ** Butane123 ** Duardo ** El Roboto ** Old Papa Rich ** Qbix89 ** x Foman123 x * TWP member OctoDeath was the first Bungie Community member (and is one of only three) to ever have a Forged map placed into Halo 3 Matchmaking by Shishka (His map, Octoplex, can be downloaded here). * TWP member DEATHPIMP72 is one of only three Bungie Community members to ever have a Forged map placed into rotation in classic Halo 3 Matchmaking playlists. His map, "Punishment" was approved for the May, 2009 Halo 3 Matchmaking Update by Shishka on April 21, 2009 (His map can be downloaded here). * Bungiepedia Bureaucrats/Administrators x Foman123 x and Bobcast are members of TWP * Former video game blogger and now 343 Industries employee/Community Team member Hawty McBloggy is a member of TWP *Group members necktatpat, GR1MJOW and Eddie Knucks defeated Bungie Employees urk (also a H3ITWP member), Shishka and Ske7ch in the Mythic Map Humpday labeled "Game with Flame." Link to News Story *jdars1804 ran the Bi-Weekly Aesthetic Artist Interviews, which were interviews of a different member of the Halo 3 Screenshot community each week. * TWP member Max2107 made a top five image submission to the Hawty McBloggy Recon Armor Contest. * Piercingtiger also has a small comic series going in Halo 3 in the Work PLace. These include some "inside" jokes, so they might not be quite as funny to the general public as they are to WorkPLacers, but here they are anyway: ** "WP1", "WP2", "WP3", "WP4", "WP5" and "WP6". * TWP member MarXXXisM had a video clip appear in Halo Waypoint's Top 5 - Failasaurus Rex at #4. Group Trivia * "WorkPLace" is always spelled with an upper-case P and L. Despite rumors to the contrary, this is the result of a typo by group founder VENOM MDK. * The group's famous motto, "Get WorkPLaced!" -- used whenever the group obtains a decisive victory in Halo 3 Matchmaking -- was coined by former TWP member king nikki. * GR1MJOW was H3ITWP's first 5-Star General in Halo 3, followed by his sensei A Ghuta. * The Stick 13 founded Topless Tuesdays, only to be one-upped by the founding of Pantsless Wednesdays and Keg Fridays. * TWP member Chick Bowdrie was the first person in the world to get 10,000 EXP in Halo 3. Prove him wrong cheaters! ** ...and infinity pulls on his heart strings. The Fallen Logan Starline aka BerserkerBarage July 12, 1982 - February 25, 2010. Christopher Wayne Brown aka DEATHPIMP72 May 23, 1972 - October 14, 2011. Memorial Guest Book Bungie Community Memorial Thread